Hunting scent lures are well-known to attract deer and other members of the cervidae family to a hunter's site. One of the most common scent lures utilizes doe urine to attract a buck to an area close to the hunter to allow the hunter to take a shot at the buck.
Urine based scent lures typically come in a liquid form or a powdered form. The urine for the liquid lures must be collected shortly before or during the hunting season, which typically is in the fall. Estrus urine and buck rut urine is often desirable, but can only be collected during the breeding cycle of the deer. Thus, production of liquid urine based lures using these special urines is limited in time. Liquid lures also must be carefully handled, during production, retail, and in the field. Liquid lures typically have a shelf life of approximately 3 months. Preservatives may be added to increase the shelf life, but may alter the smell of the product. Liquid lures may be refrigerated to slow bacteria growth and increase shelf life modestly.
Freeze drying urine into powdered form overcomes many of the problems of liquid scent lures. U.S. Pat. No. 5,896,692 describes a freeze dried scent lure product and process. The freeze drying process creates powdered urine which has indefinite shelf life, and which simplifies handling as compared to liquid lures. Preferably, the powdered freeze dried urine is rehydrated by the hunter at the time of use. Ideally, rehydration uses distilled water, spring water, snow or other unprocessed water. Thus, the hunter may need to bring bottled water on the hunt. When the powdered scent lure is rehydrated, the lack of any structural boundaries allows the hydrated powder to run off from an initial or desired location. The powdered freeze dried lure is also subject to spillage, which is undesirable.
Therefore, there is a need for an effective scent lure which overcomes the problems of liquid and powdered scent lures.
A primary objective of the present invention is the provision of an improved urine-based scent lure.
Another objective of the present invention is the provision of a hunting scent lure comprising an absorbent member impregnated with urine and then freeze dried to remove moisture from the member.
A further objective of the present invention is the provision of a method of producing a hunting scent lure using liquid urine infused into an absorbent host member.
Another objective of the present invention is the provision of a scent lure including animal urine so as to be effective in attracting the desired game animal to the hunter.
Still another objective of the present invention is a provision of a urine-based scent lure which retains the odoriferous ingredients of the animal urine.
Yet another objective of the present invention is the provision of a urine-based scent lure which retains the original structure, chromosomes, cell count and hormones of the animal urine.
A further objective of the present invention is a provision of a solid and dry hunting scent lure which is free from preservatives.
Still another objective of the present invention is a provision of a urine-based scent lure which maintains the natural pheromones of the animal urine.
Another objective of the present invention is a provision of a solid scent lure which can be placed in and maintained in any location.
A further objective of the present invention is the provision of a urine-based scent lure which is economical to manufacture, easy to handle, and has unlimited shelf life.
These and other objectives have become apparent from the following description of the invention.